Turrican... a thorough beating was delivered

[TheClash603]

It seems like the Metroid ball rip off seems pretty unstoppable.  I never beat this game because it is horrible, not because it seems too hard.

Anyone else think the explosion of the tower at the end was hilarious?  Where did all of those rocks come from?  Why didn't the rocks coming off the building change how it looked?

[spenoza]

They're doing a DC version, also. Every release they do is NG and DC. They do good work, too, AFAIK. If the PCE scene eventually reached that level of professionalism it would be darn impressive. I think the PCE scene is making headway, though.

[BigT]

The primary reason I don't like Turrican has to do with the damage/hit mechanic. You don't have any period of invincibility after taking damage, no physical reaction like being bumped or displaced, and even the sound effects provided for feedback are very light. You almost can't tell you got hit except by watching a sprite interpose yours and watching your life bar RAPIDLY deplete. This situation alone is enough to doom the game for me. If that were changed I think I could actually like the game.

Agreed, that part is annoying... but overall, Turrican is still a great classic!

[nodtveidt]

Super/Mega Turrican does damage mechanics "correctly".

[spenoza]

Super/Mega Turrican does damage mechanics "correctly".

Maybe I'll have to give them a whirl, then. I just know that I found the TG-16 Turrican to be not especially fun and incompatible with my gaming preferences.

[esteban]

STATUS: I finally admitted to myself, after playing Turrican for 3-4 hours last night, that I will never give a damn about it. It simply doesn't grab me and pull me in and pique my interest, ever! I thought I felt this way because I hadn't progressed to stage 2, or stage 3...BUT I WAS WRONG. THIS GAME IS LACKLUSTER.

So, after two decades of avoiding spoilers and FAQs and (more recently) videos, I watched all four parts of Rover's playthrough. Bravo, nodtveidt! Bravo. 

I'm still going to beat the damn game, but I really, really thought something special was hidden for me...that I was close to experiencing something wonderful. Ha! How ridiculous this sounds now...

I can't believe this day has finally arrived. YOU HAVE NO IDEA!  

[Mishran]

I owned and finished Universal Soldier for the Genny. After playing some of Turrican, it seemed like a direct copy of the game with the only changes being the title screen, player sprite, final boss, and end scene/credits. That game was a breeze compared to the mess they made for the Turbo.

[esteban]

I owned and finished Universal Soldier for the Genny. After playing some of Turrican, it seemed like a direct copy of the game with the only changes being the title screen, player sprite, final boss, and end scene/credits. That game was a breeze compared to the mess they made for the Turbo.

Hahahahahaha. I still remember when I rented the VHS from Blockbuster video.

Universal Soldier.

[A Black Falcon]

The first Turrican is such a frustrating, frustrating game... I hate how it's full of blind jumps!  I never feel like I know where I'm going to land when I jump, unless I memorize everything which is no fun.  (The TG16 version has a bunch of cut content too... I think they removed 4 of the original 16 levels from the TG16 and GB versions.  Only the Genesis port had all the stages.)  I love the rest of the Turrican series, but I don't like the first one all that much.

As for Universal Soldier (for Genesis), that game is a port of Turrican 2.  It removed the shmup levels (and replaced them with some new platformer stages), changed the character and boss graphics, and that's it; otherwise it's a straight port of a great classic.  Turrican 2 fixes almost everything wrong with the first game and then some (okay, it has the same lack of any invincibility after you get hit, but otherwise it's all better).  Fantastic game.  And yes, even the Genesis port is decent.

Super/Mega Turrican and beyond are fairly different from the first two games, they're much more traditional run & guns.  Exceptional games, I love all three of them.